Hiking & High Blood Pressure

Question:

Is it safe to hike if you have high blood pressure?

Submitted by - Kelle S., Kearney, MO

Answer:

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, and you are following a regimen from your doctor for controlling it, then there are no specific dangers from backpacking that I know of. The exercise, in fact, will help control most forms of high blood pressure. I was diagnosed with essential hypertension (high blood pressure) more than 15 years ago, and started taking meds to control it. Since then I've logged a lot of miles under a backpack and climbed several times to more than 20,000 feet in elevation with no problems. If there is a danger, I would say it's from letting it hold you back.

As a CO native, hiking Fourteeners in the summer is a favorite activity of mine. I'm excited to introduce my one-year-old to an easy one this summer (carrying him in a baby backpack, of course), but am a bit concerned about him and altitude sickness. Should I be?

As high as they can climb. Kids are sturdier than we think and scientific data supports this. Studies suggest that young hikers are not more susceptible to altitude sickness than the rest of us; indeed, many children travel to resorts at high elevations without complications.

Can altitude increase the effect of thyroid medications? I recently hiked four days in the Grand Canyon and had an experience which felt like an overdose of my thyroid meds. I skipped a dose and all the symptoms went away, even after climbing another 3,000 feet. What's up?